Finding letter writers

[dent_wannabe]

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Am I correct to make the assumption that if somebody willingly agrees (without coercion of any sort) to write a letter on my behalf, I can safely assume that it should be fine? Basically, if somebody has reservations, I can expect them to let me know upfront, right?

 

[Ruguox3]

Am I correct to make the assumption that if somebody willingly agrees (without coercion of any sort) to write a letter on my behalf, I can safely assume that it should be fine? Basically, if somebody has reservations, I can expect them to let me know upfront, right?

When you ask them, ask if they would be willing to write a strong letter for you.

 

[dent_wannabe]

When you ask them, ask if they would be willing to write a strong letter for you.

Yeah I usually ask if they would be willing and able to write a positive letter on my behalf.

One instructor did reply with a warning that he won't be able to write about much more than what appears on my transcript, and suggested that I ask somebody else if possible. On the other hand, he said he sympathizes with me if I have limited options due to schools requiring explicitly BCP letters, thus he would be happy to do it if I didn't have much of a choice.

Others I asked agreed without expressing any reservations.

In general, can I expect people to be that upfront if they have hesitations about writing me a good letter?

 

[Ruguox3]

Yeah I usually ask if they would be willing and able to write a positive letter on my behalf.

One instructor did reply with a warning that he won't be able to write about much more than what appears on my transcript, and suggested that I ask somebody else if possible. On the other hand, he said he sympathizes with me if I have limited options due to schools requiring explicitly BCP letters, thus he would be happy to do it if I didn't have much of a choice.

Others I asked agreed without expressing any reservations.

In general, can I expect people to be that upfront if they have hesitations about writing me a good letter?

From my experiences, usually they would be upfront about what you would expect. But I've heard stories of professors from my school writing bad (though honest) letters.

Perhaps you could invite your instructor to meet outside of his office and discuss your strengths over a cup of coffee.

 

[tiper15]

They can still have a positive letter and yet still be a bad letter. I have heard stories where the student is praised but the writer never even mentioned that the student wanted to go into (in this case) medical school and would be a good doctor. You should tell them maybe what you want to be addressed within the letter. You have to remember that this is a letter of recommendation into a profession, so they will be strong letters if they add to why you will be good at what you want to do.